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United States Army Ranks
The United States Army had 17 ranks at the beginning of the war and 21 at the end of the war. Enlisted Rank History In August 5, 1920 as per War Department Circular Number 303, the United States Army reduced their enlisted ranks down to 7 pay grades and only 7 different rank insignias. The previous specialty ranks were converted to the nearest equivalent enlisted pay grade. The pay grades were numbered from Grade 7 (Private, the lowest) to Grade 1 (Master Sergeant, the highest). The Military would not use the current lowest-to-highest numbering until 1951 and would not adopt the "E" prefix until 1955. The rank of Sergeant Major was eliminated and wouldn't be restored until 1958. Its functions were taken over by the grade of Master Sergeant. Privates Second Class had no insignia; it would not get one until 1968, when it inherited the single chevron of Private First Class. First Sergeant was first considered a superior grade of Technical Sergeant and later reclassed in 1942 as a subordinate form of Master Sergeant. Branch-colored enlisted stripes (like sky-blue for Infantry or yellow for Cavalry worn without backing) were abolished. They were replaced with standardized buff-colored stripes on a dark blue backing for all branches. Technician Rank History Before 1920 the US Army had a wide variety of specialty and trade ranks. They covered everything from bakers, cooks, and musicians to farriers, medical orderlies, telegraph or radio operators, and electricians. They had a bewildering array of insignia with an equally-confusing system of pay groups, with senior specialists getting more pay than senior NCOs. Seniority was also difficult to figure out, for example between a Chief Electrical Engineer and a Coast Artillery Corps Gunner or between an Infantry Staff Sergeant and a Medical Department Staff Sergeant. In 1920 the wide variety of specialty and trade ranks and their insignia were abolished and replaced with the rank of Private-Specialist. The rank of Specialist was adopted from pay grades "G-7" (Specialist Sixth Class) through "G-2" (Specialist First Class). Specialists had the same single chevron of a Private First Class but were considered between the ranks of Private and Corporal in authority. This was very confusing, as you couldn't tell the difference between a PFC and a Specialist and couldn't tell what their specialty was because trade badges had been eliminated. Unofficial insignia adopted by post commands granted Specialists one to six arcs under their chevron (ranging from one for Specialist Sixth Class to six for Specialist First Class) to indicate their grade and trade badges inset between their stripes to indicate their specialty. The rank of Private-Specialist was abolished in 1942 and replaced with the rank of Technician. Technician ranks were added during the rank changes in 1942. They received the same pay as an NCO of the same Grade but were considered a half step in authority subordinate to NCOs of the same grade and superior to all lesser grades. For instance, a Technician Third Grade was equal to a Staff Sergeant G-3 in pay ($96 a month) but was considered between a Sergeant G-4 and Staff Sergeant G-3 in authority. They had the same rank insignia as NCOs of the same pay grade, but were differenced with a "T" insignia between the chevrons and rockers. Officer Rank History All of the officer ranks were created during the Revolutionary War and were based on the British Army. The only exception was that the French rank of Brigadier-General was used instead of the British rank of Brigadier. Insignia was silver or gold metal lace epaulets worn on one or both shoulders to indicate rank. Infantry officers carried half-pikes called spadroons as the symbol of their rank and cavalry and artillery officers carried swords. In the 1830s rank insignia were adopted with the adding of bars for subalterns (Lieutenant and Captain), an oak leaf for field officers (Major and Lieutenant-Colonels), an eagle for colonels, and a number of metal stars for Generals. The rank of Ensign (changed to 2nd Lieutenant in 1871) did not receive insignia (a single gold bar) until 1917 and were identified by their bare epaulets. Officers assigned to "Foot" units (Infantry and "walking" branches) wore gold-embroidered insignia on silver epaulets and officers assigned to "Horse" units (Cavalry, Dragoons and "riding" branches like the Artillery and Mounted Rifles) wore silver-embroidered insignia on gold epaulets. This color was reversed for Majors. Subalterns (Ensigns, Lieutenants, and Captains) wore plain epaulets and Field Officers (Majors, Lieutenant-Colonels, and Colonels) and Generals wore fringed epaulets. In 1851 the rank insignia for colonels was standardized as a silver eagle. In 1872 to reduce confusion the rank insignia were standardized at 1 silver bar for Lieutenants, 2 conjoined silver bars for Captains, a gold oak-leaf for Majors, a silver oakleaf for Lieutenant-Colonels, a silver eagle for Colonels, 1 star for Brigadier-Generals, 2 stars for Major-Generals, and 3 stars for Lieutenant-Generals. The four-star rank of General of the Army of the United States, originally'' intended for the Commanding General of the US Army, was added in 1866. The honorary five-star rank of ''General of the Army was created in 1944. Officers did not receive a pay grade (the "O" grades) until 1955. Previous to that, officer's pay raises had to go through Congress and were set at a fixed yearly amount per rank. Graded pay for officers now rewarded time in rank with higher pay and added benefits and special pay. General of the Army Rank The General of the Army rank was constituted on December 14, 1944 under Public Law 78-482 as a temporary rank and was made permanent in 1946. It was an honorary rank equivalent to Field Marshal in European armies rather than a higher command rank. Only five men were awarded with the rank of General of the Army. The promotions were made parallel to the Navy's Fleet Admiral promotions. *George Marshall Army Chief of Staff (December 16, 1944) *Douglas MacArthur Commander - Southwest Pacific Area (December 18, 1944) *Dwight D. Eisenhower Commander - Europe (December 20, 1944) *Henry H. Arnold of the US Army Air Forces (December 21, 1944) *Omar N. Bradley of the 12th Army Group (September 22, 1950) The rank of General of the Armies was granted to General John J. Pershing in 1919 for his service in World War One as commander of the American Expeditionary Force in Europe. Although the insignia was designed by Pershing (a row of four gold stars) and authorized by Congress, it was never worn and the appointment died with him in 1948. Enlisted Ranks Officer Ranks